Two-day event celebrating books and culture to feature over 20 events, 50 speakers
Boston, MA – One of Boston’s smallest bookstores has big plans for the fall. On Nov. 2-3, 2018, the North End’s I AM Books will be organizing IDEA Boston, an Italian-inspired festival of books, authors, and culture. With 24 events and more than 50 speakers, the two-day festival is gearing up to be a major event in New England’s cultural and literary panorama.
This year’s inaugural IDEA Boston (ideaboston.com) will feature several big names in the publishing world, including Caldecott Honor recipient Tomie dePaola, Ciao Italia host Mary Ann Esposito, actor and screenwriter Marianne Leone, award-winning musician John T. La Barbera and Europa Editions Editor-in-Chief Michael Reynolds.
“IDEA Boston represents what we do at the bookstore day in and day out,” says Nicola Orichuia, co-founder of I AM Books. “We offer culture through our books but also organize events on a weekly basis. We thought it was time to create a bigger event where we could highlight some of the best authors and most inspiring topics we came across over the years.”
All events during IDEA Boston will take place at the Dante Alighieri building, situated at 41 Hampshire St., Cambridge, Mass., just a few steps away from Kendall Square and at the crossroads between MIT and Harvard University.
IDEA Boston is organized by I AM Books, an independent bookstore opened in Boston’s North End neighborhood in Oct. 2015, by co-founders Nicola Orichuia and Jim Pinzino. The bookstore was listed among Boston Globe Magazine’s Best of the New in 2016. The festival dates coincide with the bookstore’s third anniversary.
IDEA Boston has also partnered with FILL, the Festival of Italian Literature in London (fill.org.uk), which will take place the weekend of Oct. 27-28. “Their festival inspired us to start something on this side of the Atlantic,” says Orichuia. “Our hope is to create a network of Italian-inspired cultural festivals that will keep growing with time.”
IDEA Boston
ideaboston.com
When: Nov. 2-3, 2018
Where: Dante Alighieri,
41 Hampshire St., Cambridge MA 02169
Source: Nicola Orichuia
nicola@iambooksboston.com
857-263-7665
